diff --git a/Fauna.Test/Configuration.Tests.cs b/Fauna.Test/Configuration.Tests.cs
index 21367698..f0701089 100644
--- a/Fauna.Test/Configuration.Tests.cs
+++ b/Fauna.Test/Configuration.Tests.cs
@@ -17,6 +17,20 @@ public void ConstructorWorksFine()
         Assert.IsTrue(b.DisposeHttpClient);
     }
 
+    [Test]
+    public void ConstructorWithSecretVar()
+    {
+        string? currentVal = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_ENDPOINT");
+        Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_SECRET", "");
+
+        Configuration config = new Configuration { Secret = "secret" };
+        Assert.AreEqual("secret", config.Secret);
+
+        Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_SECRET", currentVal);
+
+        Assert.DoesNotThrow(() => config.Validate());
+    }
+
     [Test]
     public void ConstructorWithEndpointEnvVar()
     {
@@ -28,6 +42,8 @@ public void ConstructorWithEndpointEnvVar()
         Assert.AreEqual("http://localhost:8443/", config.Endpoint.ToString());
 
         Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_ENDPOINT", currentVal);
+
+        Assert.DoesNotThrow(() => config.Validate());
     }
 
     [Test]
@@ -53,6 +69,7 @@ public void ConstructorUsesEnvVar()
         Assert.AreEqual("secret", b.Secret);
         Assert.AreEqual(Endpoints.Default, b.Endpoint);
         Assert.IsTrue(b.DisposeHttpClient);
+        Assert.DoesNotThrow(() => b.Validate());
     }
 
     [Test]
@@ -63,7 +80,7 @@ public void ConstructorThrowsWithNullSecret()
         {
             Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_SECRET", null);
             var b = new Configuration();
-
+            b.Validate();
         });
         Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("FAUNA_SECRET", currentVal);
     }
@@ -76,6 +93,7 @@ public void ConstructorWithHttpClient()
         Assert.AreEqual("secret", b.Secret);
         Assert.AreEqual(Endpoints.Default, b.Endpoint);
         Assert.IsFalse(b.DisposeHttpClient);
+        Assert.DoesNotThrow(() => b.Validate());
     }
 
     [Test]
diff --git a/Fauna/Client.cs b/Fauna/Client.cs
index 38ec0918..4257e5d9 100644
--- a/Fauna/Client.cs
+++ b/Fauna/Client.cs
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ public Client(string secret) :
     /// <param name="config">The configuration settings for the client.</param>
     public Client(Configuration config)
     {
+        config.Validate();
         _config = config;
         StatsCollector = config.StatsCollector;
         _connection = new Connection(config);
diff --git a/Fauna/Configuration.cs b/Fauna/Configuration.cs
index 582d3546..cb58bcab 100644
--- a/Fauna/Configuration.cs
+++ b/Fauna/Configuration.cs
@@ -61,11 +61,6 @@ public record class Configuration
     /// <param name="logger">A logger. If null, a default logger is used.</param>
     public Configuration(string secret = "", HttpClient? httpClient = null, ILogger? logger = null)
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secret) && string.IsNullOrEmpty(Secret))
-        {
-            throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(Secret), "Need to set FAUNA_SECRET environment variable or pass a secret as a parameter when creating the Client.");
-        }
-
         if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(secret))
         {
             Secret = secret;
@@ -86,4 +81,13 @@ public Configuration(string secret = "", HttpClient? httpClient = null, ILogger?
             Logger.Initialize(logger);
         }
     }
+
+    internal void Validate()
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(Secret))
+            throw new ArgumentNullException(
+                nameof(Secret),
+                "Need to set FAUNA_SECRET environment variable or pass a secret as a parameter when creating the Client."
+            );
+    }
 }